"Junky" (stylized in

all caps In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

) is a song by American hip hop boy band Brockhampton, released on August 15, 2017 as the third single from their second studio album ''

Saturation II ''Saturation II'' is the second studio album by American hip hop boy band Brockhampton, released on August 25, 2017. Production is primarily handled by Romil Hemnani, alongside production duo Q3 (composed of Jabari Manwa and Kiko Merley), Bearfac ...

'' (2017).

Composition and lyrics

The production of the song contains

erhu The (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, that is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two-stringed fiddle''. It is used as a solo instrument as ...

, while the lyrics revolve around the personal and social challenges that each member has faced. In the opening verse,

Kevin Abstract Clifford Ian Simpson (born July 16, 1996), known by his stage name Kevin Abstract, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter known for his role as a founding member of Brockhampton. Releasing music since 2009, he released his debut album, '' ...

raps about his homosexuality and its surrounding challenges ("'Why you always rap about being gay?' / 'Cause not enough niggas rap and be gay"). This is followed by a "piercing cacophony of solemn piano chords and tire screeches".

Ameer Vann Ameer Emmanuel Vann (born September 22, 1996) is an American rapper. He is best known for being a member of music collective Brockhampton, until he was removed from the group in May 2018 due to sexual misconduct. After leaving Brockhampton, Van ...

discusses his paranoia and drug addiction in the next verse, after which

Merlyn Wood William Anku Kraka Mawuli Andoh Wood Jr. (born May 1, 1996), known by his stage name Merlyn Wood, is a Ghanaian-American rapper and songwriter. Born in Accra and raised in Texas, Wood is best known for his work as a member of hip-hop collective an ...

raps about his family pressuring him to pursue a career outside of music.

Matt Champion Matthew Garrett Champion (born February 14, 1995) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is known for his role as a member of hip hop collective and boyband Brockhampton, with whom he released eight studio albums. His debut solo albu ...

performs the penultimate verse, in which he addresses sexism, male entitlement and

rape culture Rape culture is a setting, as described by some sociological theories, in which rape is pervasive and normalized due to that setting's attitudes about gender and sexuality. Behaviors commonly associated with rape culture include victim blamin ...

Critical reception

Matthew Strauss of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' called Kevin Abstract's verse "ferocious" and wrote "even when his bandmates rap with less objective gravity, the coiled beats makes them feel just as important." Peter A. Berry of '' XXL'' described Matt Champion's verse as "accurate, but misplaced" and deemed it irrelevant to the similar themes of the other verses. ''

Live365 LIVE365 is an Internet radio network which enables users to create their own online radio stations and listen to thousands of human curated stations. Online radio stations on the Live365 network were created and managed by music and talk enthus ...

'' ranked it as their second best song. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' placed "Junky" at number 14 on their list of Brockhampton's 15 best songs.

Music video

The music video was directed by Kevin Abstract and filmed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. It shows the members of Brockhampton "spazzing out" in front of the camera, as well as frightening shots of four people wearing dresses that are soaked in blood and a person wearing an alien-looking baby mask and holding a butcher's knife in the back seat of a car.

References

{{Brockhampton 2017 singles 2017 songs Brockhampton (band) songs Empire Distribution singles Posse cuts LGBTQ-related songs Songs about drugs